ROUTING DESIGN ON THE PRIMARY COOLING PIPING SYSTEM IN PLATE-TYPE CONVERTED TRIGA 2000 REACTOR BANDUNG

Abstract

In 2015, research activities to modify TRIGA 2000 Reactor Bandung fuel element from cylindrical to plate-type have been initiated. By using plate-type fuel elements, core cooling process will be altered due to different generated heat distribution. The direction of cooling flow is changed from bottom-to-top natural convection to top-to-bottom forced convection. This change of flow direction requires adjustment on the cooling piping system, in order to produce simple, economical, and safe piping route. This paper will discuss the design of suitable piping routing based on pipe stress and N-16 radioactivity. The design process was carried out in several stages which include thermal-hydraulic data of reactor core to determine the process variables, followed by modeling various pipeline routes. Based on available space and ease of manufacture, four possible alternative routings were determined. Four routings were produced and analyzed to minimize the amount of N-16 radioactivity on the surface of the reactor tank, prolonging the cooling fluid travel time to reach at least five times of N-16 half-life. Subsequent pipe stress analysis using CAESAR II software was conducted to ensure that the piping system will be able to withstand various loads such as working fluid load, pipe weight, along with working temperature and pressure. The results showed that the occurred stresses were still below the safety limit as required in ASME B31.1 Code, indicated that the designed and selected pipeline routing of primary cooling system in the Plate-type Converted TRIGA 2000 Reactor Bandung has met the safety standards.Keywords: TRIGA reactor, Cooling system modification, Pipeline routing design, Pipe stress analysis, N-16 radioactivity